Truth in Advertising

Picture the scene... you've seen it before and will see it again ad naseum. It's a cold winter morning. The sky is blue, the sun is shining and there is twenty feet of snow on the ground. Suddenly, from behind a snow drift bursts a massive SUV chugging along the road at well above the speed limit taking the kids to school, moving the groceries back to the house or ferrying a frozen caveman back to civilization. It seems that every fall and winter we are bombarded with these commercials and almost as inevitably, far too many people take these images to be the truth.

Take this past winter for example. By all accounts it was relatively mild here in Washington. Sure we had a couple of big storms that dumped snow on us but if I was able to get to and from work in my car, a rear wheel drive sports car, then it couldn't have been that bad right? Still, there were a record number of accidents, mostly because people don't adjust to the driving conditions and try to mimic everything they see in commercials. Now I grant you, there is a certain amount of 'power' and prestige associated with an SUV. They are large, powerful, and quite manly. When you see them in commercials there is almost nothing they can't handle.

Need to tow a couple of California Redwoods? Just dig out the clothesline and tie it off on the tie-downs that are located next to the grocery nets. Want to hike the entire Grand Canyon without having to actually walk? Drive your SUV straight down the side of the canyon gorge and hike to your heart's content. Want to do some snorkeling but can't stand having goggles over your eyes? No problem, drive your car into the ocean, drive around the ocean bottom and then drive out when you're done. These are all ads for SUVs that have come out at one time or another. And despite that in the bottom left hand corner, in colors that match the backgrounds, shown at speeds that match the fastest racecars, the statement is made that these ads are not real, people still tend to believe them.

I can't tell you the number of times I've been piddling along in the wet or in the snow and have been passed by an SUV going 15 miles over the speed limit. In the snow it's a must. Under normal weather conditions everyone can go 10 miles over the limit but in the snow, 15 is the minimum that one must exceed by. Anything faster is smiled upon. You can see these drivers, both men and women (I don't discriminate) driving like the devil and seemingly without a care. You also see them just as often, stuck in a ditch or flipped over in a snow bank looking bewlidered at this odd chain of events. How could this have happened?

Simple answer? Your vehicles are top heavy and unbalanced. At low speeds in trecherous conditions you can probably wipe the floor of any normal vehicle but at high speeds in bad weather, ice and snow, it doesn't matter if your vehicle is front wheel or rear wheel drive, two-wheel, four-wheel, or twenty-wheel drive, when you lose traction you have lost it and there's very little you can do to recover it.

So do yourself a favor. Before you go out and spend tons of money on an SUV thinking that you'll be able to survive the apocalypse with nothing more than your SUV and a pack of oreos, go take an SUV out for a spin, drive it to its limits of speed, corner it like the dickens, and throw everything you can at it. If you don't flip, crash, or otherwise crack up, I believe that you'll have a certified winner on your hands and I will be the first to say that either you're an ace behind the wheel or the vehicle is very well put together. Otherwise, in this age of rising gas prices and variable fuel efficiency, you'll get to know your local tow truck driver quite well. ;-)